The present invention is particularly suited for dispensing hydrogen to vehicles that use hydrogen as a fuel.
Industry desires to dispense hydrogen gas that has been cooled from ambient temperature down to a temperature within a narrow temperature range during the dispensing event. The refrigeration load during the dispensing event is much larger than the average refrigeration requirement.
In an example dispensing protocol, there is a need to provide hydrogen gas at a temperature between −33° C. and −40° C. The hydrogen gas must be dispensed within this target temperature range for multiple sequential dispensing events. The dispensing station and method must therefore be capable of providing sufficient cooling for each of the multiple sequential dispensing events within the target temperature range for quantities of gas that will vary both in size, typically 3 to 10 kg, and in flow rate, typically 0.25 to 3.6 kg/min.